FAQ
So... what is this thing?
This is a livejournal role playing game, specifically a pan-fandom game.
What's pan-fandom?
It means that the game accepts characters from any pre-made fictional source: books, movies, comics, tv shows, short stories, especially evocative songs, etc.
Okay, so what's the AU part?
This game asks you to play the part of a canon character who took a different road, a 'what if' if you will. 'What if Luke had decided to turn to the Dark Side?' 'What if George Kirk had had a little girl?' 'What if Buffy had never been called to be a Slayer?'
...whoah. Those sound like OCs!
Not so much. The whole point is to explore a character (and what might happen to them) from a different set of circumstances; any AU should still be traceable back to the source character. It is a different path but the same traveler, a different branch on the same tree.
All right, I think I get it. But, uh, what if I app a character and give them an AU and someone else apps a character from the same series. Do they have to do the same thing?
NO. If you choose to work with someone and come from the same 'world' as they do, that's great, but you do NOT have to pick the same AU as someone else from the same canon. Just keep in mind that the version of the character THEY might know will be different from the one you're playing.
If I share a fandom with someone, do I have to worry about using their AU self in out-of-gamespace writing?
No. Because that's the version from YOUR AU. If you're from different AUs, you're from different versions. You can of course ask that other player to play the AU version from your 'verse, but you don't HAVE to.
Can you have more than one version of a single character?
We'd really really really prefer not to, but we'd be willing to hear it if you had an absolutely brilliant idea. Also, you'd have to have an okay from the person already playing the character. So in conclusion: definitely maybe, but we'd prefer not to.
What if the AU doesn't end up working for me?
If you really feel that an AU didn't work as well as you planned, or you've run through everything you feel you can, or it's too dark/bright/not working for you, you can apply for a new AU version. This is on a case by case basis, however, and something that should be seen as a last resort.
And how many characters can I play?
To start with? 5 is the magic number. Every player is limited to 5 characters. And only 2 per canon. We don't want one person playing everyone from a canon.
What's the setting?
As it says, it all started in a bar. The original game, the one that inspired this game, took place in a bar and in homage to that (and with the understanding that it's a good mixing/meeting place), our very first location is a bar.
What's out the windows of the bar?
...the rest of the gamespace. There's no 'viewing window', no 'upstairs', etc. It's just a bar.
Does it serve you itself?
Nope. Grab your booze from the bar, take up a position bartending for a bit, or order in since the place doesn't do food other than peanuts and pretzels.
What happens when the booze runs out?
It doesn't. No one knows where it comes from and generally, no one cares. Money is really only required if someone's serving. Otherwise, it's open.
...so you can get free booze but no free food?
Hey, we didn't say it was perfect. And hopefully that means you'll be going out and around attempting to get a job, earning money, or doing interesting things at home.
What if I don't want to?
...pretendy funtime games, man. You don't have to worry about it if you'd rather not.
What exactly is this place?
It's, in one character's words, all the bits of space and time that didn't, shouldn't, couldn't, and might not happen that seem to have found each other and assembled themselves.
Does time stop outside while you're in the game space?
If you want it to. If you don't, it doesn't. We leave that up to players.
Hasn't the whole "bar" thing been, well, done?
That's why that is not the be all and end all of the locations. The bar is the gateway between worlds, but outside of the bar there's quite a few places to visit!
Like what?
That's where things get interesting... because we haven't set that up yet.
You haven't? Why?
Because we want to let the game grow with the playerbase. And we want to let you guys decide what kinds of places and features this game will have, the kind of things you'd like to do and use and be a part of.
How does that work?
- As part of the application, players suggest a single location from their canonical world that they, as a player, would want to show up in the game space.
- This location, as small as a closet or as large as a mountain shows up in the game space at the same time as they are, outside the main Bar.
- This version is a COPY: the location isn't taken from the canon universe, but a functional version appears in the game space.
- This location stays as long as the character (some version of them) is in the game.
- This location should either be relatively generic (a favorite coffee spot) or be related to you in some way. Please don't request someone else's house.
If there is, it should be in the locations post.
Does the game space itself have a name?
Not yet. We figure the locals'll figure out something.
Now, that sounds pretty fun. But, uh, can my character leave?
At any time! At least, if that's what you want. The door in the bar that'll bring them back to where they come from can occasionally get 'stuck' for characters, but that is ENTIRELY up to you as a player!
Can I go to other worlds with other people?
Yup! It all depends on who opens (and can open) the door itself.
If there are further questions, comments, issues, etc, please leave them here and we'll do our best to answer them.